Patch



. L. HADF'ORD- PATCH 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 July 14, 1931.

Filed Aug. 7. 1930 Jul 010 W044 my:

July 14,1931. AD RD 1,814,383

PATCH Filed Aug. 7; 1950 '2 Sheets-Shea! 2 22 27 I 31 3 J3 3 u 11 I 32 I 9' g l WWW Patented July 14, 1931 PATENT OFFICE LOUISiHADFOR D, F SPOKANE, WASHINGTON PATCH Application filed August 7, 1930. Serial No. 473,698.

This invention has for its principal object the provision ofmeans whereby a hole formed within the hull of a boat any cause may be temporarily repaired .as to stop the inflow of Water and permit the boat to be navigated to reacha'port where permanent repairs can be made." The invention seeks to provide a simple and inexpensive device which may be inserted through the hole and then manipu- 10 lated to cover the hole and be secured so that the'inflow of water will be effectually stopped. The invention. is illustrated in the accompanydrawings and will be hereinafter fully set'forth.

In the drawings: Figure 1 is a View in plan with aportion of the hull in horizontal section of a device embodying the invention, i

Fig. 2 is an edge view of the device shown in Fig. 1 indicating by full and dotted lines successive steps in the application of the same,

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken'on the line 3-.-3of Fig. 2, i

Fig. 4 is an elevation of the inner side of a repair ob eifected by the use of the device,

Fig. "5 is a section on the line 55 of Fig. 1, Fig. 6 is a detail elevation, Fig. 7 is a detail section on the line 77 of Fig. 3, a w

Fig. 8 is a detail perspective view of the in-. ner end ofgone of the plates or leaves constituting' the" essential elements of the patch,

and

Figs. 9, 10 and 11 are respectively a plan view, an end view and a longitudinal section of a modified formof the device which may beemployed for patching small .leaks or for other purposes.

Thereference numeral 1 indicates a portion of a boats hull through which an opening, indicated at 2, has been formed either through the force of a collision with another boat or by contact with some hidden obstructio'n'so-that, if the hole should not'be closed, water wouldflow into the boat and-submerge the same. Thenumeral 3 indicates a flange which would be formed on the inner side .of 7 the hull when .itwas stoved in and which flanges is shown as having a'regular outline in the drawings as a matter of convenience but which inactual'happening would be of lrregular form. My patch or repair device includes a shaft or supporting member 4 which may beof rectangular cross sectional outline but has its corners threaded, as indicated at 5, and which may be provided in various sizesso that the exigencies of any circumstances may be met. One end of this shaft or supporting body 4 is recessed, as shown at 6, and spaced parallel lips 7 are thereby formed on the end of the shaft which lips will project beyond the hull when the end of the shaft has been inserted through the opening. Plates 8 are provided and disposed at opposite sides of the shaft 4, and these plates are constructed. with notches or. slots 9 which receive the respective lips 7, as shown. in Figs. 6 and 7, hinge pins 10 being inserted through alined openings in the ends of the plates and the lips so as to hingedly connect the plates to the end of the shaft. Between the notches or slots 9, the end portions of the respective plates are bent outwardly, as'shown at 11, and formed with central seats 12 in the ends of the respective outturned portions. When the device is not in use, the platesare swung toward each other, as shown bythe full lines in Fig. 2, and inthis position the plates and the end of the shaft may be inserted through the hole which was made in the hull. After being inserted through the hole, the shaft will be turned throughan arc of ninetydegrees and the plates will thusibe brought into the dottedlin'e'position shown in Fig. 2, after which they may be permitted to swing against the outer side of the hull so that they will cover the opening, as will be understood upon ref.- erence to Fig. 3,and itmay benoted that the plates will be provided in various sizes so that plates of such width as may be necessary to co'verand overlap the opening and rest against the outerside of the hull may be available in any given case. The plates are provided with-an external cover 13 of some water-resisting material which is flexible and will serve as packing to prevent leakage aroundthe edges of theplates when the patch has beenapplied, it being understood that the pressure of the water will hold this packing a ainst the side of the hull and around the edges of the patch plates. The leak-resisting material may be disposed between the leaves and the hull, if desired, as indicated in Fig. 5. The patch plates are provided with openings, indicated at 14, for the attachment of the packing and they are also provided with larger threaded openings, indicated at 15, to be engaged by bolts 16 when the necessity for the use of the patch arises and which bolts will serve to firmly secure the patch against the side of the hull.

The shaft or supporting body 4; has an internally threaded bore 17 and this bore is engaged by an expander shaft18 which is equipped at its inner end with any convenient form of handle 19. The outer extremity of the expander shaft 18 is smooth and is formed with a reduced neck 20 immediately at the rear of a head 21. lVhen the leaves or patch plates 8 are in the position shown in full lines in Fig. 2, the lateral lips or shoulders 11 will extend across the head 21 which is then retracted, and, after the leaves have been inserted through the hole and given a quarter turn, the shaft 18 is rotated so as to move forwardly through the supporting shaft at and cause the head 21 to ride out wardly against the shoulders 11 and efiect a swinging of the plates about their hinged pins 10 so that the plates may extend over the hole and lie against the outer side of the hull. Owing to the inflow of water, the initial movement of the plates will probably be very slow in most instances but after they have been swung through probably onehalf of their arcs the pressure of the water will act against the outer sides of the plates and will serve to swing them quickly against the hull, the notches or grooves 12 at this time moving past the neck 20 so that the plates may swing independently of the expander shaft. lVhen port has been reached and more permanent repairs are to be made, a withdrawal of the supporting shaft 4 will cause the plates to swing about their hinge points through the engagement of the outer ends of the leaves or plates with the portions of the hull around the hole and the shoulders 11 may again swing past the neck 20 without hindrance from the expander shaft.

After the hinge or patch plates or leaves 8 have been swung outwardly against the outer side of the hull, a back plate 22 is brought into use, said plate being of such dimensions as to extend over the area of the opening and rest against the flange 3. This back plate is constructed with a notch 23 of sufficient size to fit over the outer end of the support 4 and a nut 24 is fitted on said support and turned home against the back plate so as to firmly bind the same against the edges of the flange 3, as will be understood upon reference to the drawings. At opposite sides of the notch 23, openings, indicated at 25, are formed through the back plate and securing bolts 26 are inserted through these openings to engage the threaded openings 15 in the respective leaves 8 so that when these bolts have been driven home the leaves will be firmly clamped against the outer side of the hull and serious inflow of water will be efi'ectually stopped.

In Figs. 9, 10 and 11, there is illustrated a modification of the device in which a supporting body 27 is provided with a threaded longitudinal bore to receive a bolt or screw 28 having a reduced smooth end 29. One end of the body 27 has diametrically alined notches 30 formed across the same and in said notches are pivoted leaves 31 having lugs 32 disposed at right angles to their longer dimensions and adapted to normally extend across the bore of the body, as shown in Fig. 9. In this position, the lugs are in the path of the end 29 of the bolt 28' so that, if the bolt be rotated so as to move forwardly through the supporting body, the end of the bolt will ride against the lugs and cause them to swing outwardly and thereby push the leaves 31 into spread relation to the supporting body, as shown in Figs. 10 and 11, whereby they may be arranged to cover a small opening or may be engaged against the back surface of a fixed support. WVhen thus disposed, the body 27 may be utilized as a hanger on which to suspend small articles or as a bracket upon which a shelf may be placed or the bolt 28 may be turned so that its head will move against the end of the sup porting body and thereby serve to clamp an article in place. In order to permit the suggested clamping action, a washer 33 is provided against the head, as shown clearly in Figs. 9 and 11.

Having thus described the invention, I claim:

1. A patch device comprising a supporting member adapted to be inserted through a. hole and given a quarter turn therein, leaves hingedly mounted on the end of the support with their free ends normally held together beyond the support for insertion through a hole, a member mounted in the support and extending through the end thereof to engage the hinged ends of the leaves and swing them apart after the support and the leaves have been given a quarter turn, and a leakresisting element carried by the leaves.

2. A patch device comprising a support adapted to be inserted through a hole, leaves hinged to the end of the support to pass through the hole, a member mounted in the support to project beyond the same and directly engage and pass between the hinged ends of the leaves and swing the leaves out to opposite sides of the support for covering the hole through which the support is inserted, a back plate engageable with the support, and

means mounted externally on the support for clamping the back plate against a structure having a hole through which the support is inserted.

3. A patch device comprising a support, leaves hinged to the end of the support to pass through a hole, means mounted in the support and engaging the leaves for swinging them against the outer side of a boat having a hole to be covered, a back plate engageable With the support and the inner side of the boat having a hole to be covered, means mounted on the support for clamping the back plate against the boat, and means for connecting the back plate and the leaves whereby to clamp the leaves against the outer side of the boat having the hole to be covered.

4:. A patch device comprising a support having a longitudinal bore, leaves hinged to the outer end of the support at opposite sides of the bore and having right angular lugs normally extending across the bore, an expander shaft mounted in the bore of the support and having its outer end normally engaging against said lugs whereby forward movement of said shaft Will swing the leaves out to positions at opposite sides of the support, and means for rotating the expander shaft.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

LOUIS HADFORD. 

